Craftinsure Merlin Rocket Silver Tiller 2026 concludes at Brightlingsea Sailing Club
by Mary Henderson-White 2 Nov 08:47 GMT
31 October 2026
Piers Lambert and Sophie Penwarden - Craftinsure Merlin Rocket Silver Tiller at Brightlingsea © Simon Cox
Saturday 31st October dawned chilly and still, but as the tide came in at Brightlingsea Sailing Club and the sun came out, a 6-8knot breeze built from the east. The Brightlingsea volunteers welcomed the competitors with a quick briefing before everyone got afloat for the final round of the Craftinsure Silver Tiller.
Race 1: Jon Gorringe and Lorna Glen read the start perfectly and port tack flyered the whole fleet. Mary and Rupert Henderson-White were the leeward-most boat and benefitted from going left up the first beat to round the windward mark 1st, just ahead of Maddy Anderson and Tom Ballantine. Ollie Meadowcroft and George Cox-Oliff had a good run to round the leeward 2nd, but Chris Gould and Sophie Mackley were hot on the shifts on the 2nd beat to get into the lead where they stayed for the rest of the day.
Race 2: The race team did an excellent job swiftly moving the course for race 2. It was busy at the committee boat for the start, then the fleet generally picked a side. The left group mostly came out on top, though there were shifts to be found across the racecourse which could be used to your advantage. We were in the middle doing our own thing, which also seemed ok. This sort of summarises the trickiness of the day!
Rebecca Videlo and Rob Henderson were getting into their groove for the day, settling into 2nd behind Chris and Sophie. Local Rocketeers David and Sarah Conlon showed good pace in all directions to finish 3rd.
Race 3: Very impressively, Chris and Sophie continued to smell all the correct shifts in the final race. Will and Arthur Henderson got a much-deserved podium finish, having dropped back in previous races from the medals.
This event concludes the Merlin Rocket sailing Calendar for 2027. A huge thank you to Brightlingsea Sailing Club who ran excellent racing and hosted a fantastic Craftinsure Silver Tiller Dinner with a combined Allen South East Series and Allspars South West Series prize-giving 2026.
A few thank-yous on behalf of the Merlin Rocket Owners Association...
- Thank you to all the sponsors who have supported the class over the last 12 months.
- Thank you to all the clubs who has hosted our events.
- Thank you to every volunteer who has helped organise or support one of our events.
- Thank you to every sailor who has taken part, without you our events don't happen.
- Thank you for YachtsandYachting.com for the 50 articles you have published for the class!
2027... we're coming for you!
Event Results:
| Position | Boat | Sail No | Helm | Crew | Club | R1 | R2 | R3 | Pts |
|---|
| 1 | Black Swan | 3803 | Chris Gould | Sophie Mackley | Shoreham | ‑1 | 1 | 1 | 2 |
| 2 | Quick Fix | 3691 | Rebecca Videlo | Rob Henderson | Frensham Pond SC | ‑6 | 2 | 4 | 6 |
| 3 | Narnia | 3751 | Mary Henderson‑White | Rupert Henderson‑White | BSC | 2 | 4 | (DNC) | 6 |
| 4 | Arwen | 3726 | Will Henderson | Arthur Henderson | Salcombe YC | ‑7 | 7 | 2 | 9 |
| 5 | Skip | 3771 | Ollie Meadowcroft | George Cox‑Oliff | RYA | 3 | 6 | ‑9 | 9 |
| 6 | Skadi | 3820 | Caroline Gould | Isobel Stewart | | ‑11 | 5 | 5 | 10 |
| 7 | Bernard | 3658 | Matthew Shorrock | Ben Shorrock | Frensham Pond SC | ‑14 | 8 | 3 | 11 |
| 8 | Appitite for Destruction | 3753 | David Conlon | Sarah Conlon | BSC | 9 | 3 | ‑11 | 12 |
| 9 | Return Of the Jedi | 3827 | David Winder | Beka Jones | Hollingworth Lake | 5 | ‑10 | 7 | 12 |
| 10 | Bluebird | 3683 | Madeline Anderson | Tom Ballantine | Castle Cove SC | 4 | ‑12 | 10 | 14 |
| 11 | Point N Squirt | 3746 | James Wells | Anna Aylward | Hooe Point SC | 10 | ‑13 | 6 | 16 |
| 12 | Didley Whatsit | 3833 | Jon Gorringe | Lorna Glen | Parkstone YC | 8 | ‑14 | 8 | 16 |
| 13 | Diddly Squat | 3791 | Sarah Richard | Chris Feibusch | HISC | ‑16 | 9 | 12 | 21 |
| 14 | Grace | 3834 | Thomas Stewart | Charlotte Stewart | Waldringfield SC | ‑17 | 11 | 13 | 24 |
| 15 | Synergy Merlin | 3831 | Alan Krailing | Peter Nicholson | | 12 | ‑18 | 14 | 26 |
| 16 | Pather | 3774 | Richard Coulter | Louis Lappage | | 13 | ‑17 | 15 | 28 |
| 17 | Snakey B | 3671 | Piers Lambert | Sophie Penwarden | | 15 | 15 | ‑17 | 30 |
| 18 | Out numbered | 3745 | Paul Dean | Luke Moores | Fisher Green | 18 | ‑20 | 16 | 34 |
| 19 | Aura | 3817 | Geoff Kimber | Helen Kimber | Stone SC | ‑20 | 16 | 19 | 35 |
| 20 | Mondance | 3547 | Peter Male | Tim Male | RYA | ‑19 | 19 | 18 | 37 |